What is today’s moon phase?
As of Monday, February 9, the moon phase is third quarter. According to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide, 652% of the Moon will be illuminated tonight.
But what can you see? Without any visual aid, you should be able to see Mare Imbrium, Copernicus Crater and Aristarchus Plateau. With binoculars, you will also be able to see the Clavius, and Archimedes craters, and the Grimaldi Basin. If you have binoculars, you’ll also be able to see the Apollo 14 landing site, Schiller Crater, and Rhema Ariades.
When is the next full moon?
The next full moon will be on March 3.
What are the moon phases?
NASA says a full lunar cycle takes about 29.5 days. This is the time it takes for the Moon to orbit the Earth once. During this cycle it passes through eight stages. While the same side of the Moon always faces Earth, the visible portion illuminated changes as the Moon moves in its orbit. The varying amounts of sunlight reflected from the Moon cause it to appear in different phases, completely illuminated, partially illuminated, or almost in darkness. The Moon has eight phases:
New Moon – The Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it is invisible to the eye).
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Waxing Crescent – A small patch of light visible to the right (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – The right half of the Moon is illuminated. It looks like a half moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half burnt, but not full yet.
Full Moon – The entire face of the Moon is illuminated and completely visible.
Waning Gibbous – The Moon begins to lose light from the right. (Northern hemisphere)
Third quarter (or last quarter) – Another half moon, but now the left side is illuminated.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left before it gets dark again.
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